wanting to start collection

wanting to start collection

Hi there, I have been interested in whisky for sometime but never really done anything about it. My grandfather was manager of bruichladdich in the early sixties and uncle manager of Ardbeg in the eighties. I am thinking about starting a collection but not sure where to start and what bottles to be keeping an eye on. Can anyone give me some info as to where to start.

Are you interested in a drinking collection, or a collecting collection (for want of a better expression)?

In either case, with your family history, I'd think you'd want to start with those two distilleries. You could certainly do worse. Bruichladdich particularly are constantly releasing new bottlings that are well suited to either purpose.

MrTattieHeid wrote:Are you interested in a drinking collection, or a collecting collection (for want of a better expression)?

In either case, with your family history, I'd think you'd want to start with those two distilleries. You could certainly do worse. Bruichladdich particularly are constantly releasing new bottlings that are well suited to either purpose.

I am interested in a collecting collection, I enjoy the drink bit certainly but at least I can look at the good stuff whilst it is still in the bottle. What kind of things should I be looking out for?

petemorrison wrote:I am interested in a collecting collection, I enjoy the drink bit certainly but at least I can look at the good stuff whilst it is still in the bottle. What kind of things should I be looking out for?

Hi Pete

It depends on which kind of collection you are aiming for.

If you want a distillery collection, you would probably want at least one bottle of everything the distillery has produced.
You should as such buy one bottle of each and it would make sense to start your collection with bottles that are still current, but on the way out or bottles that has recently been outphased.

If you want a mixed collection of collectibles, you should look for limited bottlings, or bottlings that for some reason gets discontinued.

You will also have to decide, if you want to collect official bottlings only, or if your collection shall also include independent bottlings. (If you choose the last, the number of bottles to aquire will rise by an order of magnitude.)

Choosing Ardbeg would mean fewer bottles to collect, but many are already very expensive and not likely to rise that much in value.

Bottles that are still reasonable, but likely to become more expensive in the short run could be:
Ardbeg 17
Ardbeg 1977
Ardbeg Very Young (Still to be found in many shops, but are now replaced by still young.)

Choosing Bruichladdich would mean more bottles to collect, as this distillery is currently launching new expressions at a furious pace and many is somewhat limited, or will later be replaced by a different expression or edition.

The Whisky Exchange are a store that specializes in rare bottles, but can be more expensive than buying at auctions.

Ebay (.de & .co.uk) always lists many whiskies, rare and common alike. But show a little caution & common sense; there are scammers out there, even if they are rare. (For a tale of horror – read this from malt-maniacs and perhaps also their general fake page)

Firstly I would like to agree with much that Jan has said, he has made some good points in the above. (Also thanks for the recommendation of WhiskyHammer.com).

Pete,
In starting a collection you should decide what you wish to achieve, for example:
A nice collection of bottles to look at?
A collection of specific regions or distilleries?
A collection from any or all distilleries but of specific ages or years?
A collection as an investment for the future?

As has been suggested, you already have a family history of involvement with Bruichladdich and Ardbeg so this would indeed be a good place to start. Both of these distilleries offer some highly collectible bottlings as well as some excellent tasting drams.

If you are looking for a collection as an investment, then I would say these two distilleries offer some excellent prospective bottlings, but don't close your mind to other distilleries too!

I personally specialise in the area of "Collecting to Invest" and would like to draw your attention to some guidelines that I have published on WhiskyHammer:

In addition, if you look at the WhiskyHammer home page
http://www.whiskyhammer.com/Default.htmyou will find an item called "Collect to Invest" on the main (blue) Menu.
That above article is included, but there are also some great individual examples of bottlings which have already proven great investments and are continuing to do so.
Hopefully these pages will help you to understand the world of collecting whisky.

If you need any further help, please just ask and I will always try to help.
WH

One more thing I will add to all this ... be fairly specific in what you decide in the end. Eventhough it may be nice to collect everything that is probably impossible unless you have an endless supply of money.

There is someone here that focus' only on Arran, I only focus on Irish Whiskey and so on... you find that these are fairly large but manageable collections and once you get to a certian point it is easier to collect as you are on the look out for the rarer stuff you don't have.

It's an expensive hobby and if say you are mainly collecting Ardbeg and you buy a whole pile of everything one month then suddenly there is that Ardbeg you have been searching for high and low pops up and you have no money to buy it .

Of course that is not to say you should not buy others just be very picky about it.

Thank you all very much for you help. You have given me some advice which I can now start looking into and getting my collection under way. Once I make my first purchase I will let you know and you can then tell me if I have made a wise coice or not. I think I will be headibng down the road of a collection for investment.

Hi there as I said I would let you know what I decided to buy. Since I last spoke to you all I have purchased a bottle of 4th release 25yr old Port Ellen (this is my first actual purchase) I also have a bottle of Whisky Galore Bruichladdich 12yr old bottled in 1991 and just bought an Ardbeg Very young yesterday. I bought the Port Ellen as it is a close distillery, the Bruichladdich was a present and the Ardbeg I bought because I believe they have stopped producing this one.

Don't forget

petemorrison wrote:I think I will be headibng down the road of a collection for investment.

Thank you all

Pete

hello pete,

collecting for investment is a great idea, but you will be missing out on so much by not trying a few malts. not every bottle needs to be a rare, collectable version or release, you can, and will get alot of pleasure out of the odd bottle bought for arround £20 - £30, not a bank breaker, but good enough, and thats what its all about(for me anyway), tasting.....learning ...evolving. not every bottle needs to be a malt either, one of my favourite whiskies is a blend @ £10 a bottle, and for malts, just under £30.

Personally i think collecting is for the people that have more money than brains. Sometimes you have to look an exagerated example to get my message, like the fool who resently purchased a $1 US million fishing lure, or the moron that spent $250,000 US on $10 worth of tequila.

Tequila bottle sells for quarter million
Jul. 22, 2006. 11:52 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Forget the salt and lime, you'll need a mint to enjoy this tequila.
Producer Tequila Ley .925 announced Saturday that it has sold a bottle of Mexico's best-known beverage in a gold and platinum casing for a whopping $225,000 (U.S.).
"This is a really unique bottle of tequila and our client, a U.S.-based collector of fine wines and spirits, will treasure this prize to add to an already impressive collection," said company CEO Fernando Altamirano in a news release. The buyer's name was not disclosed.
Altamirano said he is applying to the Guinness Book of Records claiming he has sold the most expensive bottle of liquor ever, but the book has to ratify the claim.
Tequila, made from agave, a blue cactus-like plant native to Western Mexico, sells for as little $10 a bottle and was traditionally the drink of farmers and laborers.
However, in recent years its profile has risen dramatically and it has gained fans on all corners of the globe. Earlier this month, UNESCO added the blue agave-growing region to the World Heritage list.
The record-breaking bottle was part of a new range of luxury tequilas unveiled by Tequila Ley last week. Named "Aztec Passion Limited Edition," it was cased in 4.4 pounds of gold and platinum.

I know what you mean dram time, I do enjoy sitting down to a nice dram, I am enjoying a 12yr old Bowmore at the moment and had a nice 10yr old Jura last night. I prefer a malt though to a blend. I am collecting for investment but not seriously as money is not in an endless supply (and I dont think I am brainless Lord Pfaffin), just keeping my eye open for a bargain which I think is the best bit of collecting.